It’s the end of the world as we know it…and I feel fine.

It’s well past 11pm GMT, which is when a certain preacher in the US predicted the end of the world…and I feel fine.

Harold Camping is an American Christian radio broadcaster, and President of Family Radio (A Christian radio network). Recently, he claimed that today, October 21st, 2011, was the day of the Rapture. The Rapture is, supposedly, the day when God‘s elect people will be lifted to heaven, and the rest of us would be consigned to suffering through the end of days, here on Earth. The Rapture would be heralded by earthquakes striking across the planet at exactly 6pm in each time zone.

Yeah… sorry Harold, but I don’t see it happening. I have yet to be told of any earthquakes. No one I know has been lifted above – mind you, does this just mean that I only know immoral/amoral sinners? Mr Camping claimed that around 200 million people would be lifted above, around 3% of the Earth’s population, so it’s perfectly possible that I literally no no truly ‘Christian’ people. Which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing, given some of the things Christianity has been linked to in its two millennia history… sexism, racism, anti-Semitism, torture, genocide, holy war, plain old fashioned murder… all in the name of God… I think everyone should start listening to Jesus a little bit more, don’t you?

Having said that, I do know a thing or two about the Bible. I would direct Mr Camping to Mark 13:32…

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Calm down. You’ll never know it until it hits you. You have bigger worries than the Rapture. Live life as best you can, and be kind to all those you can be kind to. Try your best to be a decent person. And try and ignore people like Harold.